


The Great Destructo

by Halmaithor



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, M/M, Magician Magnus Bane, Meet-Cute, Mundane Magnus Bane/Mundane Alec Lightwood, Single Parent Alec Lightwood, but I mean Alec's son not his brother, obviously at this point Max's surname is just Lightwood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:08:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26681932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halmaithor/pseuds/Halmaithor
Summary: At one p.m. on the dot, the doorbell rings. Alec opens the door with a polite smile – and blinks. ‘Hi,’ he says, a lot more quietly than he meant to.Thankfully, the unfairly gorgeous man in front of him seems to hear it just fine, and gives him a winning smile.When his son asks for a magician to perform at his upcoming birthday party, Alec books 'The Great Destructo' - and gets more than he bargained for.
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Max Lightwood-Bane, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 18
Kudos: 115





	The Great Destructo

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So, it's been a while. I won't bore you with the details, but things have been rough lately, and as such I haven't had the opportunity to work on my two long WIPs. Still, uploading at least ONE fic this month was on my to-do list; so here, have this fluffy little idea that tickled me. I hope you enjoy it. ^^

‘A magician?’ Alec clarifies.

Max nods. ‘Like Shelley had,’ he says excitedly. ‘She got to go up and help with the tricks! I wanna do that. It looked really cool.’  
‘I see,’ Alec says with a serious nod, but a small smile, too. ‘Alright. We’ll find you a magician, then.’

His son laughs giddily, running forward and launching himself at Alec, who would no doubt be winded now if he’d been paying two percent less attention. _He’s really getting big,_ he thinks wistfully. The further he gets into fatherhood, the more he understands why his mom gets emotional at photographs of his and Izzy’s elementary-school selves.  
Max, oblivious to Alec’s swell of emotion, says ‘Thank you!’ and then launches away again. ‘I need to go tell Shelley and Jamie,’ he explains, and a moment later he’s out of the room, presumably heading for the main computer in the study.

Alec laughs quietly – where Max gets his energy, he’ll likely never know – and closes out of the spreadsheet he’d been taking a brief look at in favor of beginning his search.

***

Two weeks later, Shelley’s mom (who he _thinks_ is called Linda, but who he’s also known for _far_ too long to check that _now)_ graciously takes over the last part of Party Lunch-monitoring duty upstairs, leaving Alec free to go downstairs and wait for the arrival of the magician.

At one p.m. on the dot, the doorbell rings. Alec opens the door with a polite smile – and blinks. ‘Hi,’ he says, a lot more quietly than he meant to.

Thankfully, the unfairly gorgeous man in front of him seems to hear it just fine, and gives him a winning smile. ‘Mr. Lightwood?’ he checks.  
Alec nods, feeling his own expression stretch into a grin in return. ‘Yeah. Please, come in.’  
‘Thank you,’ the magician says – and as he sweeps inside, Alec focuses _very_ hard on saying _The living room’s this way_ instead of _You’re probably the only man on earth attractive enough to actually look_ good _in a top hat._

***

_‘Good afternoon,’_ a voice booms from around them, making Alec start a little even though he saw the speakers being set up. In front of him and the handful of other adults, closer to the stage, the kids giggle in excited anticipation. _‘Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends of all ages… Prepare to have your senses boggled and your mind blown by-‘_

There’s a flash of a pyrotechnic, and out of the smoke steps – ‘The Great Destructo!’ he exclaims, bowing low as the children clap and cheer – and then straightening up with an expression of exaggerated shock as his hat falls off his head and breaks cleanly in half, much to his audience’s apparent delight as he holds up the pieces with a sigh. ‘Oh no. Not again.’

There’s a laugh that Alec recognises as Max, and he smiles. He already gets the feeling that this guy was exactly the right choice.

He’s proved right over the course of the show, The Great Destructo living up to his name as each trick goes by – from the absurdly long handkerchief that bursts into purple flames and becomes a burned-out bunch of flowers in the process; to the magic floating bottle that works on the third attempt, the first two shattering into blunt sugar glass fragments on the stage; to the black-and-white wands that break in his hand, drooping like wilted flowers or snapping in half whenever he waves them, until – much to Max’s glee – he declares that enough is enough, and he’ll simply need an assistant to do this particular trick. (The rabbit he pulls out of the hat makes Max’s eyes light up in an all-too-familiar way as he reaches out to pet it, and Alec groans internally, already trying to calculate if they have space for a rabbit run in the back garden.)

All too soon, the show is over, and The Great Destructo leaves exactly the way he came, ‘disappearing’ in a puff of smoke to cheers and applause.

Twenty minutes later, once the kids are back upstairs in the decked-out dining room, having their choice of either birthday cake or jello and ice cream, Alec figures it’s safe enough to slip away downstairs.

The Great Destructo is humming gently to himself, packing up the last of his gear, and Alec clears his throat. ‘Destructo?’  
The magician turns to him with a warm smile, and Alec’s stomach does a funny little twist that likely has nothing to do with the richness of party food. ‘That’s me; though amongst friends,’ The Great Destructo adds with a wink, ‘Magnus works just fine too. Alexander, wasn’t it?’  
‘Yeah,’ Alec says, because he might not be the _most_ socially ept person in the world – outside of a work setting, at least – but he knows enough to decide that someone _that_ hot can use whatever form of his name he likes.

He holds out the party bag. ‘I just wanted to say thank you, and offer you a piece of cake for the road,’ he explains. ‘It was a great show.’  
Magnus grins. ‘Thank you,’ he says, reaching out to take the party bag, and Alec tries not to react as their hands briefly brush together. God, what’s _wrong_ with him? ‘In my experience,’ Magnus continues with a chuckle, ‘the only thing kids like more than magic is when adults mess up.’  
‘And fireworks, in Max’s case,’ Alec adds with a smile of his own. ‘Pretty sure you won him over with the first pyrotechnic.’  
‘I’m glad,’ Magnus says, his expression softening. ‘He seems like a sweet kid. You and the rest of your household must be very proud.’  
‘Actually, it’s just us two,’ Alec says – hopefully, not _too_ quickly. ‘But yeah, I am.’

Magnus nods, turning and picking up his various suitcases, waving Alec away with a grateful smile when he steps forward to help. ‘Well. Thank you for the cake, and I’m glad you enjoyed the show.’  
‘I did,’ Alec says, walking him over to the front entrance and opening the door. ‘I’ve gotta say, I have _no_ idea how you pulled off that last levitation trick.’

‘Ah, a magician never reveals his secrets,’ Magnus declares – and then pauses on the porch, looking at Alec consideringly. ‘Although,’ he says, ‘I admit, that’s not the _full_ saying.’  
Alec frowns in confusion. ‘Oh?’  
‘No.’ Magnus shakes his head, but his eyes light up in a way that captures Alec’s attention as effectively as any pyrotechnic. ‘The full saying is: _A magician never reveals his secrets… unless you buy him a drink first.’_

‘…Oh,’ Alec says, a little strangled, which would worry him if he weren’t one-hundred percent sure that his face is contorting into helpless delight, _again._ ‘Well, I, uh… I’m free on Tuesday?’ he offers. ‘Say, seven p.m. at the Blue Room?’   
Magnus flashes him yet another show-stopping grin, and the tiny, persistent part of Alec that was worrying he’d misread the situation evaporates into nothingness. ‘Sounds perfect, Alexander,’ he agrees. ‘I look forward to it.’

  
A few moments later, they’ve said their goodbyes; and Alec is left staring at the now-closed front door, a stupid grin on his face and the strange feeling that today, _he’s_ the one who’s pulled off a magic trick. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Do please let me know if you enjoyed it ^^  
> Find me on tumblr: silver-latin-and-salt :)


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